Protecting The Truck

[Montara24d]

Making our first trip to Alaska this spring towing a 5th wheel, & have found this forum very helpful. My question is has anyone made any type of protective gravel guard for the front of the pick up?
John

[loggenrock]

Also slow down on either gravel or narrow roads (NOT just in AK!) when meeting another vehicle. maintaining distance behind vehicles in front is important - tougher when passing. At least by slowing down rocks. etc coming at you will have less impact. Except for a couple VERY minor pings in the hood and a tiny windshield chip (which occurred in the lower 48 on our way to AK!), no other damage in 15k miles on our AK adventure! ST

[Nodaker]

Drove to Alaska summer of '16. Didn't do anything to the front of the truck. Put plastic film (imitation 3m) on lower front of 5th wheel which seemed to protect it well.

There really isn't much more exposure to road damage on the Alaska Hwy than anyplace else. The best approach is to use a little extra caution and slow down in construction zones.

[PA12DRVR]

Opinions are ....well, we all know what opinions are like. So, FWIW, my opinion

- In 20+ years of driving the Alcan (admittedly not too recently) I saw some of the most outlandish contraptions one can imagine...some of debatable usefulness

- "...back in the day", the big worries were radiators, fuel tanks, and headlights. Other than the possible exception of headlights, those aren't as worrisome now...and I think headlights are much less susceptible to damage.

- Most protectors cause enough damage to finishes (paint, plastic, etc) so that any benefit of avoiding impact/penetration damage is outweighed.

Opinion only YMMV

[trailerbikecamp]

What I ahve found works best on gravel roads for protecting the front of your TV is distance. Keep a distance between you and the vehicle ahead of you. Keeping the distance allows the dirt and gravel to settle down before it hits your truck.

As for the front of your fuver, use a good quality mud flaps loke "Rock Tamers". Make sure there is a couple inches between the bottom of the flaps and the road surface.